Investigating the Effect of Droplet Size and Water Cut on Wax Deposition Phenomenon
Personnel
| Chevron | TU PI's | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Rama Venkatesan | Nagu Daraboina | Mina Daneshvar (graduated) |
| Cem Sarica |
Abstract
Wax deposition in the oil production and transportation pipelines can be a significant problem. Moreover, the deposition phenomena become more complicated as more water produced either due to water encroachment to the well from an aquifer or due to water flooding operation. The deposition characteristics can vary as more water produced at later stage of the oil field. It is important to understand the phenomena of both the characteristics of deposition and its behavior with droplet size to develop and implement appropriate remediation strategies. However, there are few studies on the effect of water on wax deposition, and the existing studies have some inconsistencies. This work will be targeted systematically investigate the water cut and droplet size effect on wax deposition.
The main objectives of this project are to:
- Understand the relationship between droplet size in water in oil emulsion and wax deposit characteristics using cold finger apparatus
- Understand the influence of water cut of test fluid on the water content of the deposit.